Про праздник навруз на английском языке

Navruz is the most cheerful holiday in Central Asia. The history of the holiday goes back to ancient time, when people worshipped the Sun and the Fire. It was celebrated by solar calendar, based on the earth position compared to the Sun.  So the holiday celebrated on the 21 of March, the equinox day — when day and night are of equal length.

For more than 3 centuries people of Central and East Asia celebrate Navruz as the holiday of Coming Spring. Navruz is the symbol of a new day and new year, it’s time for new plans, good mood and hopes. And nothing could change tradition: neither new religions, nor new rulers – Navruz remains popular holiday. 

Why?

The New Year always brings to people hopes and belief in better life and future. It’s considered that “if a man eats an apple and sniffs narcissus in the morning of Navruz holiday, the New year will be happy for him”. That’s why Navruz remained popular holiday for many centuries.

 People of Central Asia always celebrate the holiday with love and new ideas. They carefully prepare for the holiday – clean up homes, yards and even streets. They also try to pay off their debts not to have them in the New Year. 

Navruz dishes

The main tradition of Navruz is to cook famous dishes, which are so loved by children and adults. First of all women begin to make sumalyak.  It takes about whole day and night for preparing sumalyak. They use sprouted wheat and mix it with sugar and flour. 

To make cooking interesting and pleasant work, people dance, sing songs and listen to music. People also make pilaf and halisa for Navruz holiday. Halisa is a dish made from 7 cereals – to make it tasty they add meat.

We invite you to celebrate the most pleasant spring holiday Navruz in Uzbekistan. During the tour you can visit ancient cities of Uzbekistan and celebrate coming spring and New Year with us!

Nowruz
Left-to-right from top: A Kurdish girl during Nowruz preparations in Palangan, Iran A symbol of Nowruz from ancient Zoroastrian art[note 1] Azerbaijani shepherd’s dance Haft-sin table set at the White House in 2008 Safavid king Shah Abbas II celebrates Nowruz in the 17th century Nowruz Eve among Mazandarani people
Observed by	Iranian peoples (originally and currently) Various (currently):  Afghanistan  Albania (by Bektashi Muslims)[1][2]  Armenia by Iranian-Armenians, Kurds and Yazidis)  Azerbaijan  Bahrain (by Persians of Bahrain)[3]  Bangladesh (by Shia Muslims and others)[4]  Canada (by Iranian-Canadians and Turkic-Canadians)  China (by Xinjiang Tajiks and Turkic peoples)[5]  Cyprus[6][7]  Georgia (by Azerbaijani-Georgians)[8]  India (by Parsis, Iranis, and some Indian Muslims)[9]  Iran  Iraq (by Kurds and Turkmen)[10]  Israel (by Baháʼís and some Iranian Jews)[11][12]  Kazakhstan[13]  Kosovo  Kyrgyzstan[13]  North Macedonia  Mongolia (by Bayan-Ölgii Kazakhs)[14]  Pakistan (by Baloch, Baltis, Parsis, Iranis, Pashtuns, Ismaʿilis, Shia Muslims)[15][16]  Russia (by Tatars, Bashkirs, Tabasarans and others)[17]  Syria (by Kurds)[18][19]  Tajikistan[20]  Turkey (by Azerbaijani-Turks, Kurds, and Yörüks)[21][22]  Turkmenistan[23]  Ukraine (by Crimean Tatars)  United States (by Iranian-Americans and Turkic-Americans)  Uzbekistan
Type	Cultural
Significance	Day of new year on the Solar Hijri calendar
Date	20 March;[24] can vary between 19 and 22 March
Frequency	Annual

Norooz, Nawrouz, Newroz, Novruz, Nowrouz, Nawrouz, Nauryz, Nooruz, Nowruz, Navruz, Nevruz, Nowruz, Navruz, Navroz
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
Country	Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan
Reference	1161
Region	Asia and the Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription	2016 (4th session)

Nowruz (Persian: نوروز, [noːˈɾuːz]; lit. ‘new day’)^{[note 2]} is the Persian-language term for the day of the Iranian New Year,^[25] also known as the Persian New Year.^[26] It begins on the spring equinox^[27] and marks the beginning of Farvardin, the first month of the Solar Hijri calendar (an Iranian calendar used officially in Iran and Afghanistan). The day is celebrated worldwide by various ethnolinguistic groups and falls on or around the date of 21 March on the Gregorian calendar.

The day of Nowruz has its origins in the Iranian religion of Zoroastrianism and is thus rooted in the traditions of the Iranian peoples; however, it has been celebrated by diverse communities for over 3,000 years in Western Asia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Black Sea Basin, the Balkans, and South Asia.^{[28][29][30][31]} Presently, while it is largely a secular holiday for most celebrants and enjoyed by people of several different faiths and backgrounds, Nowruz remains a holy day for Zoroastrians,^[32] Baháʼís,^[33] and some Muslim communities.^[34][35]

As the spring equinox, Nowruz marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere.^[36] The moment at which the Sun crosses the celestial equator and equalizes night and day is calculated exactly every year, and families traditionally gather together to observe the rituals.

While Nowruz has been celebrated since the reform of the Iranian calendar in the 11th century CE to mark the new year, the United Nations officially recognized the «International Day of Nowruz» with the adoption of Resolution 64/253 by the United Nations General Assembly in February 2010.^[37][38]

Nowruz[edit]

The first day of the Iranian calendar falls on the March equinox, the first day of spring, around 21 March. In the 11th century CE the Iranian calendar was reformed in order to fix the beginning of the calendar year, i.e. Nowruz, at the vernal equinox. Accordingly, the definition of Nowruz given by the Iranian scientist Tusi was the following: «the first day of the official New Year [Nowruz] was always the day on which the sun entered Aries before noon.»^[39] Nowruz is the first day of Farvardin, the first month of the Iranian solar calendar.

Etymology[edit]

The word Nowruz is a combination of Persian words نو now – meaning «new» – and روز ruz – meaning «day«. Pronunciation varies among Persian dialects, with Eastern dialects using the pronunciation [noːˈɾuːz] (as in Dari and Classical Persian, whereas in Tajik, it is written as «Наврӯз» Navröz), western dialects and Tehranis [noːˈɾuːz]. A variety of spelling variations for the word nowruz exist in English-language usage, including norooz, novruz, nowruz, navruz, nauruz and newroz.^[40][41]

Timing accuracy[edit]

Nowruz’s timing in Iran is based on Solar Hijri algorithmic calendar, which is based on precise astronomical observations, and moreover use of sophisticated intercalation system, which makes it more accurate than its European counterpart, the Gregorian calendar.^[42]

Each 2820 year great grand cycle contains 2137 normal years of 365 days and 683 leap years of 366 days, with the average year length over the great grand cycle of 365.24219852. This average is just 0.00000026 (2.6×10⁻⁷) of a day – slightly more than 1/50 of a second – shorter than Newcomb’s value for the mean tropical year of 365.24219878 days, but differs considerably more from the current average vernal equinox year of 365.242362 days, which means that the new year, intended to fall on the vernal equinox, would drift by half a day over the course of a cycle.^[42] As the source explains, the 2820-year cycle is erroneous and has never been used in practice.

Charshanbe Suri[edit]

Chaharshanbe Suri (Persian: چهارشنبه‌سوری, romanized: čahâr-šanbeh suri (lit. «Festive Wednesday») is a prelude to the New Year.^{[citation needed]} In Iran, it is celebrated on the eve of the last Wednesday before Nowruz. It is usually celebrated in the evening by performing rituals such as jumping over bonfires and lighting off firecrackers and fireworks.^[43][44]

In Azerbaijan, where the preparation for Novruz usually begins a month earlier, the festival is held every Tuesday during four weeks before the holiday of Novruz. Each Tuesday, people celebrate the day of one of the four elements – water, fire, earth and wind.^[45] On the holiday eve, the graves of relatives are visited and tended.^[46]

Iranians sing the poetic line «my yellow is yours, your red is mine», which means my weakness to you and your strength to me (Persian: سرخی تو از من، زردی من از تو, romanized: sorkhi to az man, zardi man az to) to the fire during the festival, asking the fire to take away ill-health and problems and replace them with warmth, health, and energy. Trail mix and berries are also served during the celebration.

Spoon banging (قاشق زنی) is a tradition observed on the eve of Charshanbe Suri, similar to the Halloween custom of trick-or-treating. In Iran, people wear disguises and go door-to-door banging spoons against plates or bowls and receive packaged snacks. In Azerbaijan, children slip around to their neighbors’ homes and apartments on the last Tuesday prior to Novruz, knock at the doors, and leave their caps or little basket on the thresholds, hiding nearby to wait for candies, pastries and nuts.^[45]

The ritual of jumping over fire has continued in Armenia in the feast of Trndez, which is a feast of purification in the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Catholic Church, celebrated forty days after Jesus’s birth.^[47]

Sizdebedar[edit]

In Iran, the Nowruz holidays last thirteen days. On the thirteenth day of the New Year, Iranians leave their houses to enjoy nature and picnic outdoors, as part of the Sizdebedar ceremony. The greenery grown for the Haft-sin setting is thrown away, particularly into a running water. It is also customary for young single people, especially young girls, to tie the leaves of the greenery before discarding it, expressing a wish to find a partner. Another custom associated with Sizdah Bedar is the playing of jokes and pranks, similar to April Fools’ Day^[48]

History and origin[edit]

Ancient roots[edit]

There exist various foundation myths for Nowruz in Iranian mythology.

The Shahnameh credits the foundation of Nowruz to the mythical Iranian King Jamshid, who saves mankind from a winter destined to kill every living creature.^[49] To defeat the killer winter, Jamshid constructed a throne studded with gems. He had demons raise him above the earth into the heavens; there he sat, shining like the Sun. The world’s creatures gathered and scattered jewels around him and proclaimed that this was the New Day (Now Ruz). This was the first day of Farvardin, which is the first month of the Iranian calendar.^[50]

Although it is not clear whether Proto-Indo-Iranians celebrated a feast as the first day of the calendar, there are indications that Iranians may have observed the beginning of both autumn and spring, respectively related to the harvest and the sowing of seeds, for the celebration of the New Year.^[51] Mary Boyce and Frantz Grenet explain the traditions for seasonal festivals and comment: «It is possible that the splendor of the Babylonian festivities at this season, led the Iranians to develop their own spring festival into an established New Year feast, with the name Navasarda «New Year» (a name which, though first attested through Middle Persian derivatives, is attributed to the Achaemenian period).» Akitu was the Babylonian festivity held during the spring month of Nisan in which Nowruz falls. Since the communal observations of the ancient Iranians appear in general to have been seasonal ones and related to agriculture, «it is probable that they traditionally held festivals in both autumn and spring, to mark the major turning points of the natural year.»^[51]

Nowruz is partly rooted in the tradition of Iranian religions, such as Mithraism and Zoroastrianism. In Mithraism, festivals had a deep linkage with the Sun’s light. The Iranian festivals such as Mehregan (autumnal equinox), Tirgan, and the eve of Chelle ye Zemestan (winter solstice) also had an origin in the Sun god (Mithra). Among other ideas, Zoroastrianism is the first monotheistic religion that emphasizes broad concepts such as the corresponding work of good and evil in the world, and the connection of humans to nature. Zoroastrian practices were dominant for much of the history of ancient Iran. In Zoroastrianism, the seven most important Zoroastrian festivals are the six Gahambar festivals and Nowruz, which occurs at the spring equinox. According to Mary Boyce,^[52] «It seems a reasonable surmise that Nowruz, the holiest of them all, with deep doctrinal significance, was founded by Zoroaster himself»; although there is no clear date of origin.^[53] Between sunset on the day of the sixth Gahambar and sunrise of Nowruz, Hamaspathmaedaya (later known, in its extended form, as Frawardinegan; and today is known as Farvardigan) was celebrated. This and the Gahambars are the only festivals named in the surviving text of the Avesta.

The 10th-century scholar Biruni, in his work Kitab al-Tafhim li Awa’il Sina’at al-Tanjim, provides a description of the calendars of various nations. Besides the Iranian calendar, various festivals of Greeks, Jews, Arabs, Sabians, and other nations are mentioned in the book. In the section on the Iranian calendar, he mentions Nowruz, Sadeh, Tirgan, Mehrgan, the six Gahambars, Farvardigan, Bahmanja, Esfand Armaz and several other festivals. According to him, «It is the belief of the Iranians that Nowruz marks the first day when the universe started its motion.»^[54] The Persian historian Gardizi, in his work titled Zayn al-Akhbār, under the section of the Zoroastrians festivals, mentions Nowruz (among other festivals) and specifically points out that Zoroaster highly emphasized the celebration of Nowruz and Mehrgan.^[55][56]

Achaemenid period[edit]

Although the word Nowruz is not recorded in Achaemenid inscriptions,^[57] there is a detailed account by Xenophon of a Nowruz celebration taking place in Persepolis and the continuity of this festival in the Achaemenid tradition.^[58] Nowruz was an important day during the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550–330 BCE). Kings of the different Achaemenid nations would bring gifts to the King of Kings. The significance of the ceremony was such that King Cambyses II’s appointment as the king of Babylon was legitimized only after his participation in the referred annual Achaemenid festival.^[59]

It has been suggested that the famous Persepolis complex, or at least the palace of Apadana and the Hundred Columns Hall, were built for the specific purpose of celebrating a feast related to Nowruz.

In 539 BCE, the Jews came under Iranian rule, thus exposing both groups to each other’s customs. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, the story of Purim as told in the Book of Esther is adapted from an Iranian novella about the shrewdness of harem queens, suggesting that Purim may be an adoption of Iranian New Year.^[60] A specific novella is not identified and Encyclopedia Britannica itself notes that «no Jewish texts of this genre from the Persian period are extant, so these new elements can be recognized only inferentially.» Purim is celebrated the 14 of Adar, usually within a month before Nowruz (as the date of Purim is set according to the Jewish calendar, which is lunisolar), while Nowruz occurs at the spring equinox. It is possible that the Jews and Iranians of the time may have shared or adopted similar customs for these holidays.^[61] The Lunar new year of the Middle East occurs on 1 Nisan, the new moon of the first month of spring, which usually falls within a few weeks of Nowruz.

Parthian and Sassanid periods[edit]

Nowruz was the holiday of Parthian dynastic empires who ruled Iran (248 BCE–224 CE) and the other areas ruled by the Arsacid dynasties outside of Parthia (such as the Arsacid dynasties of Armenia and Iberia). There are specific references to the celebration of Nowruz during the reign of Vologases I (51–78 CE), but these include no details.^[57] Before Sassanids established their power in Western Asia around 300 CE, Parthians celebrated Nowruz in autumn, and the first of Farvardin began at the autumn equinox. During the reign of the Parthian dynasty, the spring festival was Mehregan, a Zoroastrian and Iranian festival celebrated in honor of Mithra.^[62]

Extensive records on the celebration of Nowruz appear following the accession of Ardashir I, the founder of the Sasanian Empire (224–651 CE). Under the Sassanid emperors, Nowruz was celebrated as the most important day of the year. Most royal traditions of Nowruz, such as royal audiences with the public, cash gifts, and the pardoning of prisoners, were established during the Sassanid era and persisted unchanged until modern times.

After the Arab-Muslim conquest[edit]

Nowruz, along with the mid-winter celebration Sadeh, survived the Muslim conquest of Persia of 650 CE. Other celebrations such as the Gahambars and Mehrgan were eventually side-lined or only observed by Zoroastrians. Nowruz became the main royal holiday during the Abbasid period. Much like their predecessors in the Sasanian period, Dehqans would offer gifts to the caliphs and local rulers at the Nowruz and Mehragan festivals.^[63]

Following the demise of the caliphate and the subsequent re-emergence of Iranian dynasties such as the Samanids and Buyids, Nowruz became an even more important event. The Buyids revived the ancient traditions of Sassanian times and restored many smaller celebrations that had been eliminated by the caliphate. The Iranian Buyid ruler ‘Adud al-Dawla (r. 949–983) customarily welcomed Nowruz in a majestic hall, decked with gold and silver plates and vases full of fruit and colorful flowers.^[64] The King would sit on the royal throne, and the court astronomer would come forward, kiss the ground, and congratulate him on the arrival of the New Year.^[64] The king would then summon musicians and singers, and invited his friends to gather and enjoy a great festive occasion.^[64]

Later Turkic and Mongol invaders did not attempt to abolish Nowruz.

In 1079 CE during the Seljuq dynasty era, a group of eight scholars led by astronomer and polymath Omar Khayyam calculated and established the Jalali calendar, computing the year starting from Nowruz.

Contemporary Era[edit]

Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, Iran and Afghanistan were the only countries that officially observed the ceremonies of Nowruz. When the Caucasian and Central Asian countries gained independence from the Soviets, they also declared Nowruz as a national holiday.

Nowruz was added to the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.^{[65][66][67][68]}

Holiday customs[edit]

House cleaning and shopping[edit]

House cleaning, or shaking the house (Persian: خانه تکانی, romanized: xāne tekāni) is commonly done before the arrival of Nowruz. People start preparing for Nowruz with a major spring cleaning of their homes and by buying new clothes to wear for the New Year, as well as the purchase of flowers. The hyacinth and the tulip are popular and conspicuous.^[69]

Visiting family and friends[edit]

During the Nowruz holidays, people are expected to make short visits to the homes of family, friends and neighbors. Typically, young people will visit their elders first, and the elders return their visit later. Visitors are offered tea and pastries, cookies, fresh and dried fruits and mixed nuts or other snacks. Many Iranians throw large Nowruz parties in as a way of dealing with the long distances between groups of friends and family.^[70]

Food preparation[edit]

One of the most common foods cooked on the occasion of Nowruz is Samanu (Samanak, Somank, Somalek). This food is prepared using wheat germ. In most countries that celebrate Nowruz, this food is cooked. In some countries, cooking this food is associated with certain rituals. Women and girls in different parts of Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan cook Samanu in groups and sometimes during the night, and when cooking it, they sing memorable songs.

Cooking other foods is also common on Nowruz. For example, Sabzi polo with fish is eaten on Eid night and sweets such as Nan-e Nokhodchi. In general, cooking Nowruz food is common in every region where Nowruz is celebrated, and each area has its food and sweets.

Haft-sin[edit]

Typically, before the arrival of Nowruz, family members gather around the Haft-sin table and await the exact moment of the March equinox to celebrate the New Year.^[71][72] The number 7 and the letter S are related to the seven Ameshasepantas as mentioned in the Zend-Avesta. They relate to the four elements of Fire, Earth, Air, Water, and the three life forms of Humans, Animals and Plants. In modern times the explanation was simplified to mean that the Haft-sin (Persian: هفت‌سین, seven things beginning with the letter sin (س)) are:

• Sabze (Persian: سبزه) – wheat, barley, mung bean, or lentil sprouts grown in a dish.
• Samanu (Persian: سمنو) – sweet pudding made from wheat germ
• Persian olive (Persian: سنجد, romanized: senjed)
• Vinegar (Persian: سرکه, romanized: serke)
• Apple (Persian: سیب, romanized: sib)
• Garlic (Persian: سیر, romanized: sir)
• Sumac (Persian: سماق, romanized: somāq)

The Haft-sin table may also include a mirror, candles, painted eggs, a bowl of water, goldfish, coins, hyacinth, and traditional confectioneries. A «book of wisdom» such as the Quran, Bible, Avesta, the Šāhnāme of Ferdowsi, or the divān of Hafez may also be included.^[71] Haft-sin’s origins are not clear. The practice is believed to have been popularized over the past 100 years.^[73]

Haft-mewa[edit]

In Afghanistan, people prepare Haft Mēwa (Dari: هفت میوه, English: seven fruits) for Nauruz, a mixture of seven different dried fruits and nuts (such as raisins, silver berry, pistachios, hazelnuts, prunes, walnut, and almonds) served in syrup.
^[74]

Khoncha[edit]

Khoncha (Azerbaijani: Xonça) is the traditional display of Novruz in the Republic of Azerbaijan. It consists of a big silver or copper tray, with a tray of green, sprouting wheat (samani) in the middle and a dyed egg for each member of the family arranged around it. The table should be with at least seven dishes.^[45]

Amu Nowruz and Hajji Firuz[edit]

In Iran, the traditional heralds of the festival of Nowruz are Amu Nowruz and Haji Firuz, who appear in the streets to celebrate the New Year.

Amu Nowruz brings children gifts, much like his counterpart Santa Claus.^[75] He is the husband of Nane Sarma, with whom he shares a traditional love story in which they can meet each other only once a year.^[76][77] He is depicted as an elderly silver-haired man with a long beard carrying a walking stick, wearing a felt hat, a long cloak of blue canvas, a sash, giveh, and linen trousers.^[78]

Haji Firuz, a character with his face and hands covered in soot, clad in bright red clothes and a felt hat, is the companion of Amu Nowruz. He dances through the streets while singing and playing the tambourine. In the traditional songs, he introduces himself as a serf trying to cheer people whom he refers to as his lords.^[79]

Kampirak[edit]

In the folklore of Afghanistan, Kampirak and his retinue pass village by village distributing gathered charities among people. He is an old bearded man wearing colorful clothes with a long hat and rosary who symbolizes beneficence and the power of nature yielding the forces of winter. The tradition is observed in central provinces, specially Bamyan and Daykundi.^[80]

Nauryz kozhe[edit]

In Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhs and Kyrgyzs start the new year by cooking nauryz kozhe or nooruz koze, a traditional drink.^[81]

Locality[edit]

The festival of Nowruz is celebrated by many groups of people in the Black Sea basin, the Balkans, the South Caucasus, Western Asia, central and southern Asia, and by Iranian peoples worldwide.^[82]

Places where Nowruz is a public holiday include:

Nowruz is celebrated by Kurds in Iraq^[10][94] and Turkey,^[95] as well as by the Iranis, Shias and Parsis in the Indian subcontinent and diaspora.

Nowruz is also celebrated by Iranian communities in the Americas and in Europe, including Los Angeles, Phoenix, Toronto, Cologne and London.^[96] In Phoenix, Arizona, Nowruz is celebrated at the Persian New Year Festival.^[97] But because Los Angeles is prone to devastating fires, there are very strict fire codes in the city. Usually, Iranians living in Southern California go to the beaches to celebrate the event where it is permissible to build fires.^[98] On March 15, 2010, the United States House of Representatives passed the Nowruz Resolution (H.Res. 267), by a 384–2 vote,^[99] «Recognizing the cultural and historical significance of Nowruz».^[100]

Afghanistan[edit]

Nowruz marks Afghanistan’s New Year’s Day with the Solar Hijri Calendar as their official calendar.
In Afghanistan, the festival of Gul-i-Surkh (Dari: گل سرخ, English: red flower) is the principal festival for Nauruz. It is celebrated in Mazar-i-Sharif during the first 40 days of the year, when red tulips grow in the green plains and over the hills surrounding the city. People from all over the country travel to Mazar-i-Sharif to attend the Nauruz festivals. Buzkashi tournaments are held during the Gul-i-Surkh festival in Mazar-i-Sharif, Kabul and other northern Afghan cities.

Jahenda Bala (Dari: جهنده بالا English: raising) is celebrated on the first day of the New Year.^[101] It is a religious ceremony performed at the Blue Mosque of Mazar-i-Sharif by raising a special banner resembling the Derafsh Kaviani royal standard. It is attended by high-ranking government officials such as the Vice-President, Ministers, and Provincial Governors and is the biggest recorded Nawroz gathering, with up to 200,000 people from all over Afghanistan attending.

In the festival of Dehqān (Dari: دهقان English: farmer), also celebrated on the first day of the New Year, farmers walk in the cities as a sign of encouragement for the agricultural production. In recent years, this activity only happens in Kabul and other major cities where the mayor and other government officials attend.

During the first two weeks of the New Year, the citizens of Kabul hold family picnics in Istalif, Charikar and other green places where redbuds grow.

During the Taliban regime of 1996–2001, Nauruz was banned as «an ancient pagan holiday centered on fire worship».^[102]

Albania[edit]

Nevruz is celebrated annually in Albania on 22 March as Sultan Nevruz. In Albania, the festival commemorates the birthday of Ali ibn Abi Talib (died 661 CE) and simultaneously the advent of spring. It is prominent amongst the nations’ Bektashis, but adherents of Sunnism, Catholicism, and Orthodoxy also «share in the nevruz festival to respect the ecumenical spirit of Albania».

Armenia[edit]

Since the 19th century, Nowruz has not generally been celebrated by Armenians and is not a public holiday in Armenia. However, it is celebrated in Armenia by tens of thousands of Iranian tourists who visit Armenia with relative ease.^[103] The influx of tourists from Iran accelerated since around 2010–11.^[104][105] In 2010 alone, around 27,600 Iranians spent Nowruz in capital Yerevan.^[106]

In 2015, President Serzh Sargsyan sent a letter of congratulations to Kurds living in Armenia and to the Iranian political leadership on the occasion of Nowruz.^[107]

Azerbaijan[edit]

In Azerbaijan, Nowruz celebrations go on for several days and included festive public dancing and folk music, and sporting competitions. In rural areas, crop holidays are also marked.^[108]

Communities of the Azeri diaspora also celebrate Nowruz in the US, Canada,^[109] and Israel.^[110]

Bangladesh[edit]

In Bangladesh, Shia Muslims in Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi and Khulna continue to celebrate it regularly. However, tradition goes back to historical East Bengal’s link to the Mughal Empire; the empire celebrated the festival for 19 days with pomp and gaiety.^[111][112] Shia Muslims in Bangladesh have been seen spraying water around their home and drinking that water to keep themselves protected from diseases. A congregation to seek divine blessing is also arranged. Members of the Nawab family of Dhaka used to celebrate it amid pomp and grandeur. In the evening, they used to float thousands of candle lights in nearby ponds and water bodies. The National poet Kazi Nazrul Islam portrayed a vivid sketch of the festival highlighting its various aspects. In his poem, he described it as a platform of exposing a youth’s physical and mental beauty to another opposite one for conquering his or her heart.^[113]

Central Asia[edit]

Nowruz widely celebrated on a vast territory of Central Asia and ritual practice acquired its special features.^[114] The festival was legitimized by prayers at mosques, and visits to the mazars of Muslim saints and to sacred streams. In the Emirate of Bukhara, a broad official celebration of Nowruz was started by Amir Muzaffar, who sought to strengthen the image of the Manghyt dynasty during the crisis of political legitimacy.^[115] Currently, all five Central Asian countries (Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan) celebrate Nowruz as a public holiday.^[116]

China[edit]

Traditionally, Nowruz is celebrated mainly in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region by the Uyghurs, Chinese Tajik, Salar, and Kazakh ethnicities.^[5]

Georgia[edit]

Nowruz is not celebrated by Georgians, but it is widely celebrated by the country’s large Azerbaijani minority (~7% of the total population)^[117] as well as by Iranians living in Georgia.^[117][118] Every year, large festivities are held in the capital Tbilisi, as well as in areas with a significant number of Azerbaijanis, such as the Kvemo Kartli, Kakheti, Shida Kartli, and Mtskheta-Mtianeti regions.^[117] Georgian politicians have attended the festivities in the capital over the years, and have congratulated the Nowruz-observing ethnic groups and nationals in Georgia on the day of Nowruz.^[119][120]

India[edit]

The Parsi community of India observe the new year using the Shahenshahi calendar which does not account for leap years, meaning this holiday has now moved by 200 days from its original day of the vernal equinox. In India the Parsi New Year is celebrated around August 16–17.^[121]

Tradition of Nowruz in Northern India dates back to the Mughal Empire; the festival was celebrated for 19 days with pomp and gaiety in the realm.^[111][112] However, it further goes back to the Parsi Zoroastrian community in Western India, who migrated to the Indian subcontinent from Persia during the Muslim conquest of Persia of 636–651 CE. In the Princely State of Hyderabad, Nowruz (Nauroz) was one of the four holidays where the Nizam would hold a public Darbar, along with the two official Islamic holidays and the sovereign’s birthday.^[122] Prior to Asaf Jahi rule in Hyderabad, the Qutb Shahi dynasty celebrated Nowruz with a ritual called Panjeri, and the festival was celebrated by all with great grandeur.^[123] Kazi Nazrul Islam, during the Bengal renaissance, portrayed the festival with vivid sketch and poems, highlighting its various aspects.^[113]

Iran[edit]

Nowruz is two-week celebration that marks the beginning of the New Year in Iran’s official Solar Hijri calendar.^[124][125] The celebration includes four public holidays from the first to the fourth day of Farvardin, the first month of the Iranian calendar, usually beginning on March 21.^[126] On the Eve of Nowruz, the fire festival Chaharshanbe Suri is celebrated.^[127] Following the 1979 Revolution, some radical elements from the Islamic government attempted to suppress Nowruz,^[128] considering it a pagan holiday and a distraction from Islamic holidays. Nowruz has been politicized, with political leaders making annual Nowruz speeches.^[129]

Kurdistan[edit]

Newroz is largely considered as a potent symbol of Kurdish identity. The Kurds of Turkey celebrate this feast between March 18 and 21. Kurds gather into fairgrounds mostly outside the cities to welcome spring. Women wear colored dresses and spangled head scarves and young men wave flags of green, yellow and red, the historic colors of Kurdish people. They hold this festival by lighting fire and dancing around it.^[130] Newroz has seen many bans in Turkey, as Turkey has a strong and long history of trying to suppress Kurdish history and culture. It has only been celebrated legally since 1992 after the ban on the Kurdish language was lifted. The holiday is now officially allowed in Turkey after international pressure on the Turkish government to lift culture bans. The Turkish government renamed the holiday Nevroz in 1995. However, Newroz celebrations are still suppressed and lead to continual confrontations with the Turkish authority. In Cizre, Nusyabin and Şırnak celebrations turned violent as Turkish police forces fired in the celebrating crowds.^[131] In recent years, the Newroz celebration summons around 1 million participants in Diyarbakır, the biggest city of the Kurdish dominated Southeastern Turkey.

In Syria, the Kurds dress up in their national dress and celebrate the New Year.^[132] According to Human Rights Watch, the Kurds have had to struggle to celebrate Newroz, and in the past and the celebration has led to violent oppression, leading to several deaths and mass arrests.^[133] The Syrian Arab Ba’athist government stated in 2004 that the Newroz celebrations will be tolerated as long as they do not become political demonstrations.^[134] During the Newroz celebrations in 2008, three Kurds were shot dead by Syrian security forces.^[135][136] In March 2010, an attack by Syrian police killed two or three people, one of them a 15-year-old girl, and more than 50 people were wounded.^[137] The Rojava revolution of 2012 and the subsequent establishment of the de facto Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria saw Kurdish civil rights greatly expand, and Newroz is now celebrated freely in most Kurdish areas of Syria except for Efrin, where the ritual is no longer allowed since the 2018 occupation by Turkish-backed rebel groups.^[138]

Kurds in Iraq and Iran have had more freedom to celebrate Newroz than their countrymen of Syria and Turkey.

Kurds in the diaspora also celebrate the New Year; for example, Kurds in Australia celebrate Newroz not only as the beginning of the new year, but also as the Kurdish National Day. Similarly, the Kurds in Finland celebrate the new year as a way of demonstrating their support for the Kurdish cause.^[139] Also in London, organizers estimated that 25,000 people celebrated Newroz during March 2006.^[140] In Canada, the largest Kurdish Newroz festival is held in Ontario. In the States, the city of Nashville, Tennessee includes the largest Kurdish population in the United States. The Kurds celebrate Newroz by holding a Nashville festival; dressed in their traditional clothing, they sing and dance around a fire with their family and friends.^[141]

Pakistan[edit]

In Pakistan, Nowruz is typically celebrated in parts of Gilgit-Baltistan,^[142] Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, especially near the border with Afghanistan, and across Balochistan, with a large celebration held in the capital of Quetta.^[143] Recently, the government of Iran has become involved in hosting celebrations in Islamabad to commemorate the holiday.^[143] Like in India, the Parsi and Ismaili communities have historically celebrated the holiday,^[144] as have some Shi’a Muslims.^[16]

Theology[edit]

Followers of the Zoroastrian faith include Nowruz in their religious calendar, as do followers of other faiths.^[145] Shia literature refers to the merits of the day of Nowruz; the Day of Ghadir took place on Nowruz; and the fatwas of major Shia scholars^[146] recommend fasting. Nowruz is also a holy day for Sufis, Bektashis, Ismailis, Alawites,^[147] Alevis, Babis and adherents of the Baháʼí Faith.^[148]

Baháʼí Faith[edit]

Naw-Rúz is one of nine holy days for adherents of the Baháʼí Faith worldwide. It is the first day of the Baháʼí calendar, occurring on the vernal equinox around March 21.^[149] The Baháʼí calendar is composed of 19 months, each of 19 days,^[150] and each of the months is named after an attribute of God; similarly each of the nineteen days in the month also are named after an attribute of God.^[150] The first day and the first month were given the attribute of Bahá, an Arabic word meaning splendour or glory, and thus the first day of the year was the day of Bahá in the month of Bahá.^[149][151] Baháʼu’lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, explained that Naw-Rúz was associated with the Most Great Name of God,^[149][151] and was instituted as a festival for those who observed the Nineteen-Day Fast.^[152][153]

The day is also used to symbolize the renewal of time in each religious dispensation.^[154] ʻAbdu’l-Bahá, Bahá’u’lláh’s son and successor, explained that significance of Naw-Rúz in terms of spring and the new life it brings.^[149] He explained that the equinox is a symbol of the messengers of God and the message that they proclaim is like a spiritual springtime, and that Naw-Rúz is used to commemorate it.^[155]

As with all Baháʼí holy days, there are few fixed rules for observing Naw-Rúz, and Baháʼís all over the world celebrate it as a festive day, according to local custom.^[149] Persian Baháʼís still observe many of the Iranian customs associated with Nowruz such as the Haft-sin, but American Baháʼí communities, for example, may have a potluck dinner, along with prayers and readings from Baháʼí scripture.

Twelver and Ismaʿili Shias[edit]

Along with Ismailis,^[156][157] Alawites^{[citation needed]} and Alevis^{[citation needed]}, the Twelver Shia also hold the day of Nowruz in high regard.^{[citation needed]}

It has been said that Musa al-Kadhim, the seventh Twelver Shia imam, has explained Nowruz and said: «In Nowruz God made a covenant with His servants to worship Him and not to allow any partner for Him. To welcome His messengers and obey their rulings. This day is the first day that the fertile wind blew and the flowers on the earth appeared. The archangel Gabriel appeared to the Prophet, and it is the day that Abraham broke the idols. The day Prophet Muhammad held Ali on his shoulders to destroy the Quraishie’s idols in the house of God, the Kaaba.»^{[158][better source needed]}

The day upon which Nowruz falls has been recommended as a day of fasting for Twelver Shia Muslims by Shia scholars, including Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei^{[citation needed]}, Ruhollah Khomeini^[159] and Ali al-Sistani.^[160] The day also assumes special significance for Shias as it has been said that it was on March 16, 632 AD, that the first Shia Imam, Ali, assumed the office of caliphate. Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims around the globe celebrate Nowruz as a religious festival. Special prayers and Majalis are arranged in Jamatkhanas. Special foods are cooked and people share best wishes and prayers with each other.^{[citation needed]}

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Media related to Nowruz at Wikimedia Commons
• Nowruz at Encyclopædia Iranica

Navruz in Tajikistan

Tajikistan’s biggest annual celebration is the spring festival of Navruz, literally “New Day”. Navruz marks the beginning of the Persian New Year, which starts at the spring equinox. (The exact date of the celebration depends on the timing of the equinox). The roots of the festival are Zoroastrian – the religion the Persians before they converted to Islam. For the Tajiks, Navruz represents a festival of friendship and renewal of all living beings. Humping over the fire on the last Wednesday of the year is practiced by the Tajiks as well. One tradition that has survived in Tajikistan is gathering of wild flowers by children in the villages. They bring the flowers back and while wearing colourful attire walk around the village, knock on people’s doors and present them with a flower. This happens one week before Navruz and there are many old folk songs that are sang by the children during the event.

House cleaning is done before the celebrations start and this includes washing and polishing all the dishes in the household. The lady of the household has a few specific tasks. Before the New Year arrives, she places two sweeping brushes ( jaroo ) that are painted red outside the door just before the sunrise and keeps it there all the day. After the sun is fully risen, more house hold items are brought outside and a red cloth is hanged outside. The red colour signifies the household welcoming the spring-sun and by opening doors and windows the new spring air is welcomed into the homes.

Nowruz morning starts with a sweet breakfast. New colourful clothes with spring motives (flowers) are worn. Special food and sweets are prepared. All kinds of games including playing with eggs, bird fighting, slaughtering a goat and wrestling are part of the celebrations. Women also prepare a paste by cooking sumalak, a porridge made from sprouted wheat that is traditionally eaten on the spring holiday. A major part of the celebration is the selection of a queen for the Navruz that has become a national celebration and is broadcast nationally by the TV stations in Tajikistan. The celebration includes a major parade with young women dressed in their national dresses carrying the ceremonial objects used on the Navruz spread with young men and women dancing and musicians playing. March 21st and 22nd are official Navruz holidays in Tajikistan, but celebrations start before these dates and continue afterwards.

Celebration of Navruz in Tajikistan is an incredible eyeful in its beauty.

On these festive days spring comes entirely to the ancient Tajik land and it may be finally seen in its fine

splendor. The caressing sun cherishes the mountain peaks and lucid snowdrops fight their way through slobber. These first spring florets are the main harbingers of the festival. Traditionally, village children give them out as a symbol of the beginning of spring.

Tajikistan prepares for Navruz in advance, first of all, spiritually: by paying debts and forgiving old insults. This day of the holiday, people put on clean clothing, symbolizing a complete expurgation. Rituals with fire dating back to Zoroastrian roots of the holiday are obligatory this day. All household should come

round a bonfire or torch alight in sign of good hope against the best.

By lunch time, hosts invite guests to festive table, served with the dishes traditional for Navruz holiday: sumanak (concoction from wheat sprouts), sambusa (sausage roll from puff-paste or rissole with greens), sabzi (vegetables) and so on. All in all, there should be seven ritual dishes beginning with “S”.

Navruz is widely celebrated both in cities and villages. This day everybody goes to the main square to watch festive shows participated with singers, dancers and musicians. It is impossible to imagine the celebration of Navruz in villages without horserace, national sports contests, cockfighting, flying the kites and pigeons, and traditional goat snatching (buzkhkasi).

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Navruz – beginning of new life

When the parks are filled with the hubbub of the birds and the buds on the trees swell, when springs and irrigation ditches wake up from hibernation, the long-awaited holiday of spring Navruz comes to Uzbekistan. It is always celebrated on the vernal equinox, on the 21st of March.

Navruz (or Nowruz) is a spring festival or New Year. The term «Navruz» is composed of two Persian words «nav» (new) and «ruz» (day), that is the first starting day of the most momentous holiday of the Aryans.

Navruz is tied to the natural environmental conditions of the continent and the actual astronomical events. The holiday marks the joyous awakening of every living thing after winter, when farmers begin sowing season.

The history of Navruz

The spring New Year’s holiday — Navruz, originated in Khorasan (a historical region of Iran) over 3000 years ago, almost simultaneously with the origination of agriculture, spread to all neighboring countries.

Originally the festival of Navruz was the custom among farmers, and then through them it became the custom of settled and nomadic Turkic peoples. Over the centuries traditions of different nations to hold Navruz adapted to their way of life and ideology.

The origin of the festival is ancient Iranian and associated with the sun worship and the name of the legendary soothsayer Zarathustra. On this day the ancient Persian kings put on a crown on their heads, demonstrating a picture of solar annual cycle, participated in veneration in the Temple of Fire and handed round generous gifts to nationals. Later, «the spring» New Year became popular among the majority of peoples of Central Asia, not only Iranian-speaking, but also Turkish, who was influenced by Zoroastrian culture.

Navruz is a new life, new anticipations, and the people’s smile. The brighter Navruz will be, the more generous nature will reward people in the New Year.

Navruz holiday in Uzbekistan is music of karnays, joyous voices of children in nice clothes on their way to a holiday in the morning, set up tables in homes as a symbol of abundance and hospitality. There are many traditions, precisely handed down from one generation to another, which are coupled with this holiday.

Today Navruz Celebration in Uzbekistan

Nowruz dishes

On Nowruz the tables should be served in a special abundantly. There is an omen — the richer the table, the richer the whole coming year will be. The holiday-like menu is of utmost significance. The main fest dishes: pilaf, shurpa, samsa from the first spring greens should be cooked. Also plenty of snacks, sweet stuff and fruit should be on the table.

Sumalak – the main holiday dish of Navruz

Sumalak is prepared for twenty-four hours. The women slowly stir sprouted wheat grains in a huge pot. The grains gradually transform into a thick viscous brown mass. During the stirring in the boiler one can hear interesting sounds. Small pebbles or nuts, which are well washed, especially placed on the bottom of the boiler at the beginning of cooking sumalak in order it does not burn during cooking. Well, if this stone or a nut will be in your bowl of sumalak, you should rejoice, because the whole year will be successful and happy for you!

Traditional ceremonies during Nowruz

According to popular belief, the first guest of the New Year should have a soft and good character, a good sense of humor, a kind name and reputation, and most importantly — to have a «happy foot», that is, to bring stroke to the house.

Since ancient times, in Uzbekistan on Navruz customs were arranged. Many Nowruz traditions have survived until today.

Here for example, such an unusual and, alas, forgotten rite — gulgardoni (walking with flowers). Snowdrops are symbol of the New Year. They need to gather in the early morning, and then to tie to a long pole. With these poles boys go to the neighbors and congratulate them, and the neighbors treat them with goodies.

With Nowruz a loved by the people an ancient traditional game kupkari is linked. The goal is to snatch the lamb from the hands of the enemy and with this trophy gallop to the finish line. The grand prize is awarded to the winner by respected elders.

Spring Navruz tours in Uzbekistan

Navruz is a holiday, which is being waited for impatiently, because it’s the end of the harsh winter, the beginning of a new life when in advance there are only warm sunny days. The trip to Uzbekistan in this holiday is a great opportunity to get to know the culture, cuisine and fun of the locals.

You can also take part in the cooking of festive dishes sumalak. You will be able to think of your fondest wish, throwing into the cauldron a walnut or a small pebble. We assure that it will not boring!

Navruz – holiday of friendship and cordiality

This festival promotes the values of peace and cohesion, as well as concord and neighborliness, which contributes to the protection of cultural diversity and strengthening friendship between peoples and different communities.

Navruz as a sample of the Intangible Cultural Heritage is in the list of UNESCO. Navruz is a great and flourishing festival, which is updated and reinterpreted with us every year.

We will be happy to find you a unique offer for travel to Uzbekistan. Simply send us a request.

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Nauryz – Feast of Spring Renewal

March 21 — 23

In Kazakhstan, the arrival of spring on March 21^st is celebrated with Nauryz, a holiday which welcomes not only the spring equinox but also the renewal of nature. For eastern nations, including Kazakhstan, New Year traditionally began not on January 1^st but on Nauryz, and even the name of the holiday translates from Farsi as “New Day”.

Nauryz is not considered a religious holiday in Kazakhstan -it was celebrated before the arrival of Islam, and in fact is a remnant of ancient pagan cultic traditions which honored the forces of nature. Comparative celebrations include Lori, the last day of cold, in India; Jam en-Nessim, the beginning of spring, in Egypt; Tu BiShvat ,the season of rain, in Israel; and Sumarsdag, the arrival of summer, in Iceland.

The Nauryz holiday in Kazakhstan symbolizes fertility, friendship and love. On this special day people dress up, visit close friends and family and offer well wishes to everyone around them. The day is filled with singing, dancing, national games and special foods, most notably kumys, a fermented dairy product made of horse milk, and the must-try traditional dish called nauryz-kozhe.

Kazakhs believe that if you indulge in nayruz-kozhe on Nauryz, your year is bound to be prosperous. Nauryz-kozhe is a nutritionally rich soup that is cooked from seven ingredients: meat, water, flour, butter, millet (may be replaced with rice or corn), salt and milk. Just as the Nauryz holiday in Kazakhstan is filled with symbolism, each component of nauryz-kozhe symbolizes one of life’s seven prosperous elements: growth, luck, happiness, wealth, health, wisdom and heavenly protection.

Since the number seven holds special meaning at Nauryz, the seven ingredients of nauryz-kozhe are combined and poured into seven bowls which are placed in front of respected older men called aksakals. On Nauryz, each person should invite seven guests to his home and visit seven other houses in turn.

Nauryz isn’t just about the food, however. Congratulations of “Koktem tudi!” (Spring is born!) are proclaimed, and traditional poets called akins compete in lively competitions. Other national contests prominent at Nauryz celebrations in Kazakhstan include kazaksha-gures (national wrestling), a logic game called toguz kumalak and Kazakhstan’s famous horse games, kyz-kuu and bayga. Theatrical performances are enacted in city plazas while girls and boys gather together to socialize and play on large log swings called altybakan.

Nauryz is not only a 3-day public holiday in Kazakhstan, it is also acknowledged by the UN as an International Holiday. Nauryz is celebrated in every country in Central Asia and other countries in the region, including Georgia, India, Iran, China and Turkey.

Nauryz     Nauryz in Kazakhstan symbolizes fertility, friendship and love.

Navruz is one of the brightest, most joyful and beautiful holidays, not only in Uzbekistan, but in the whole Muslim East! Spring festival of Navruz, the oriental New Year, is directly connected with the coming of spring and is celebrated on 21 March, on the spring (vernal) equinox, when day becomes equal to night and continues to win from it several minutes with every next turn of the Earth, and when the New Solar Year brings a new phase of renewal.

The name of Navruz (which is translated from Farsi as ‘the new day’) speaks for itself: it is a new life, new garments, the awakening of the nature after the long winter sleep, a bright sun and people’s happy smiles. Navruz is more than a holiday. The popular belief says, “He who celebrates and has fun on the day of Navruz will spend his life cheerfully until the next Navruz celebration”. People dance, sing ritual songs and enjoy themselves, happily receiving the spring and making presents to their relatives and friends, as well as to other people, orphans and the poor, who are in need of help.

The Navruz holiday appeared at the time when written language did not yet exist and when the cult of the Sun was only beginning to form among the farmers. Navruz gained the official status of a Zoroastrian holiday in the Achaemenian Empire, in 648-330 BC.

Currently, Navruz is celebrated as the beginning of a new year in Iran and Afghanistan, and as an official holiday in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Albania, Iraqi Kurdistan, India, Macedonia and Turkey, as well as in some of the republics of the Russian Federation, such as Tatarstan and Bashkortostan.
The tradition of celebrating Navruz has remained almost unchanged in the course of years. People make special preparations for the holiday: they clean their houses, courts and streets they live in, wash all their clothes and pay away all their debts.

The holiday is actually celebrated for several days, with the first day, 21 March, being the main day. On this day people cook festal meals, the principal dishes being khalisa and sumalak (a wheat bran pudding) cooked only once a year, for Navruz, to which they treat their friends, relatives and all who happen to visit them at this time. Khalisa is cooked of seven cereals and meat, all of which are boiled into a homogeneous substance. Sumalak is ritual dish based on sprouting wheat grains. People begin to cook these complex meals one day before the holiday. All women of a large family or a community gather around big cauldrons and stir the substance for a whole night, in turns, in order that it does not get burnt on a fire kept up with wood.

The composition of haft sina is one of the traditional Navruz rituals. The holiday table must have on it seven (‘haft’) foods, the names of which begin with the Persian letter ‘sin’: rue seeds (‘siland’), apples (‘seb’), black seeds (‘siahdane’), wild olives (‘sanjid’), vinegar (‘sirke’), garlic (‘sir’) and sprouting grains (‘sabzi’).

The greater diversity of food there will be on people’s holiday tables, the more crops the following year will bring. The dishes that are invariably found on the holiday table are pilaf (also spelled pilaff, plov, pilau, pilav, polow, pulaw, pulao), shurpa, boiled mutton and kok-samsa (pasties filled with young herbs), together with food symbolising revival and a new life, such as sprouting wheat grains, boiled eggs and others.

For the next 13 days that follow 21 March people visit their relatives, neighbours and friends, organise joyful festivities, holiday bazaars and sports competitions, plant young trees and start working in the field.

People believe that angels descend upon the earth on the days of Navruz to bring the people wealth and make them happy. However, they visit only those homes filled with peace and harmony, which is why people try to forget about hostility, grievances and others’ debts.

And it is not quite clear, whether it is Navruz or the warm spring sun that makes people actually brighter and kinder, but they really become so, and each longs to return to their roots, feeling happy at seeing new green grass and the smallest awakening bugs, in a word, loving with all their heart their own life and the New one that is just beginning around them.
Is this not magic?..

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Nauryz is one of the oldest holidays on Earth. This holiday of spring and the renewed life of the Earth has been celebrated for over five thousand years by many cultures of the Middle and Central Asia and, according to some sources, by eastern Slavs as well.

Historical records referring to this holiday can be found in ancient and middle age documents. In the oriental chronology, it corresponds to Navruz, the Iranian New Year. Kazakhs, Uzbeks and Uighurs passed the Nauryz traditions from generation to generation. The Tajiks called it Gulgardon or Gulnavruz, the Tatars refer to it as Nardugan and the Ancient Greeks knew it as Patrich. The roots of this holiday can be traced to old pagan rituals. The celebration was meant to reflect people’s love to nature. People have preserved the rituals, and today the holiday has acquired new spiritual and ethical meaning.

This holiday has been celebrated on 22 March, the day of the spring equinox. That’s why the Kazakhs call the month of March Nauryz. It was celebrated as the day of the renewed life which comes with the spring. It was the day when the first spring thunder strikes, buds are swelling on the trees and vegetation grows wildly. Nauryz as a non-religious celebration of the spring and renewal is closely linked to some other Kazakh holidays, such as a «farewell to winter» festival. Boys born on this day would be called Nauryzbai or Nauryzbek, and girls Nauryz or Nauryzgul. It was seen as a good omen if it was snowing on that day.

The March snow is usually soft and particularly white. Beautiful girls were often compared to the white snow of Nauzys. In the past, the Kazakh called Nauryz the Day of the People or the Great Day of the People. People believed, the more generous the celebration of Nauryz was the happier the year would be. Therefore, there are so many rituals and festivities related to this holiday. On the eve of the holiday, people would clean their homes, pay back their debts and reconciled with their opponents because, as the old people used to say, if Nauryz entered the house, all diseases and failures would pass it by. On the night before the festival, all vessels in the house would be filled with milk, airan (plain yogurt), grain, and spring water because it meant that people would have a lot of milk, good yield and plenty of rain during the coming year.

During the day, everybody tried to be in good spirits, would give a big hug to each other and wish good fortune and happiness to others. The celebrations would begin with sunrise. There is an old ritual «If you see a spring, clean up its source». At dawn, all adults, youngsters and children would pick up spades, go to an agreed place near a spring or aryk (small water canal) and clean it. There, they would also plant trees under the supervision of respectable old people. During the process, they had to say: «Let a man leave a tree rather than a herd in the people’s memory» and «If you cut one tree, you will have to plant ten!»

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What is Nowruz and why do we celebrate it?

The word Nowruz (Novruz, Navruz, Nooruz, Nevruz, Nauryz), means new day; its spelling and pronunciation may vary by country.

Nowruz marks the first day of spring and is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox, which usually occurs on 21 March. It is celebrated as the beginning of the new year by more than 300 million people all around the world and has been celebrated for over 3,000 years in the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East and other regions.

Inscribed in 2009 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as a cultural tradition observed by numerous peoples, Nowruz is an ancestral festivity marking the first day of spring and the renewal of nature. It promotes values of peace and solidarity between generations and within families as well as reconciliation and neighbourliness, thus contributing to cultural diversity and friendship among peoples and different communities.

Nowruz plays a significant role in strengthening the ties among peoples based on mutual respect and the ideals of peace and good neighbourliness. Its traditions and rituals reflect the cultural and ancient customs of the civilizations of the East and West, which influenced those civilizations through the interchange of human values.

Celebrating Nowruz means the affirmation of life in harmony with nature, awareness of the inseparable link between constructive labour and natural cycles of renewal and a solicitous and respectful attitude towards natural sources of life.

Background

International Nowruz Day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution A/RES/64/253 of 2010, at the initiative of several countries that share this holiday. Under the agenda item of “culture of peace”, the member states of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Albania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan prepared and introduced a draft resolution (A/64/L.30) entitled «International Day of Nowruz» to the ongoing 64th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations for its consideration and adoption.

In the 71st plenary meeting on 23 February 2010, The General Assembly welcomed the inclusion of Nowruz in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on 30 September 2009.

It also recognized 21 March as the International Day of Nowruz, and invited interested Member States, the United Nations, in particular its relevant specialized agencies, funds and programmes, and mainly the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and interested international and regional organizations, as well as non-governmental organizations, to participate in events organized by States where Nowruz is celebrated.